Only two per cent of people who currently work in early years are male. Do you think there should be more effort to increase the numbers of men working in childcare and early years?
Parents
have lots of difficult decisions to make for their children, and one of those
decisions is which childcare to use: do you choose a childminder or a nursery?
Do you choose the after-school club run at your child's school or do you go
elsewhere? And when looking at childcare providers, how do you judge the quality
of the setting and whether your child will enjoy it there?
It is
clear from research studies that high quality childcare improves the life
chances of all children - it boosts children's learning and gives them a chance
to mix with others. Plus it enables parents to work, undertake training, and/or
meet other parents.
Daycare Trust wants to find out more about
what parents think about what high quality childcare looks like. In 2004, a MORI
study for Daycare Trust found that the top quality issues for parents were the
quality of staff, a warm and caring atmosphere, good quality buildings and
facilities, and reliability. When looking at improvements, the most frequently
mentioned improvement was in terms of outdoor space.
We are now
doing some new work on what parents think high quality childcare consists of -
which will be published in a policy paper later in the spring. We would be
really grateful if you would take five minutes to tell us what the top quality
factors are for you and your children.
The questionnaire is
online at www.surveymonkey.com/s/parentsquality. All responses
received by Friday 5 March 2010 will be entered into a prize draw to win £50 of
high street shopping vouchers.
You can judge quality by visiting a setting and experiencing it for
yourself. Talk to the staff, find out what the facilities are like and
what activities are on offer, what training staff do and whether they
have childcare qualifications. You can find further information and
advice about choosing a suitable childcare provider, including ideas of
questions to ask, in our 'Finding and choosing childcare' section, or by calling our Information Line on 0845 872 6251. You can also download our factsheet ‘Choosing quality childcare'.
Survey results revealed
We currently have a vacancy for the Chair of the Trustee board.
New guide helps you with your childcare options.
Will you back our campaign to make childcare a priority issue in the new parliament?
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